1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to archery, and more particularly to an archery sight having correlated distance indicators.
2. Description of the Related Art
The modern sport of archery has evolved greatly from the earliest days of recorded history. Ancient archers used the bow and arrow as a tool for survival, for gathering food and for protection. Through the centuries, there have been many technological and social advances. While the bow and arrow are still useful for basic survival functions, most modern archers are hunting, practicing with targets, or otherwise enjoying the sport.
The equipment used by modern archers is also much different than that of the earliest hunters. Today, bows range from simple bent or stretched sticks made in the traditions of the earliest hunters to the recurve and cross bows that were developed as humans gained skill in woodworking, to the ultra-modern compound bows of the last few decades. As might be appreciated, each of these bows have very different characteristics, resulting in arrows that travel at greatly differing speeds.
Like the bows, the arrows of today also cover a wide gamut of materials and geometries. There are wooden, aluminum, fiberglass and graphite arrows, and even more esoteric composites and alloys available. Fletchings will almost always be provided at the tail of the arrow. These fletchings are designed to stabilize the flight of the arrow, and may be used to cause the arrow to spin or rotate about a longitudinal axis, which can further improve the overall straightness of flight. In addition, the fletchings may sometimes be used to provide color for locating an errant arrow, and also used to provide unique appearance that might be specific to a single archer. The fletchings were commonly fabricated from bird feathers, which have low weight and good aerodynamic performance, though there are now many similar synthetic materials available. In practice, a single fletching is aligned in a straight or slight spiral or helical pattern about the arrow shaft, and then glued along the edge of contact between the fletching and the shaft. As may be appreciated, these fletchings are often fragile, and in many cases easily damaged or even stripped from the shaft if handled roughly.
One of the challenges that arise from the diverse equipment used in modern archery is how to enable an archer to account for the many variables, and still reliably and accurately shoot the arrow. As may be appreciated in this very old art, a number of artisans have heretofore attempted to address this need. One exemplary US patent, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference, is U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,080 by Howe, entitled “Bow sight”. As illustrated herein as prior art FIG. 1, Howe illustrate a recurve bow 1 having an early sight that comprised pins 2, having heads 3 that were each colored uniquely, so that each pin 2 denoted a different distance to the target. This allows the archer to preset the location of pins 2 within an array of pin holes to match desired distances for a particular bow and arrow combination, such as at a target range. Then when hunting, the archer can quickly sight a target without any manual adjustments to the sight. This bow sight certainly improved the ease of sighting, but also requires the archer to remember the particular distances that each pin 2 designates. Then the archer must accurately judge the distance from the archer to target, select the proper pin head 3 to align to, and then fire the arrow. For a highly skilled archer, this may be second nature, but in the heat of the moment, even the most skilled and practiced archers can momentarily become confused about the particular pin to be used at a particular distance.
To reduce the opportunity for confusion, and to assist the archer with distance determination, Logsdon in U.S. Pat. No. 8,272,137 entitled “Selective fiber optic sight system”, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference and illustrated herein as prior art FIG. 2, proposes a bow 1 having an archery sight 4 that includes fiber optic pins 5 having illuminating tips 6. A laser range finder provides a distance measurement, and the appropriate pin 5 and illuminating tip 6 is activated for the desired target. This sight 4 overcomes several of the limitations of the prior art, by eliminating the need for the archer to judge distance, and by also selecting the appropriate sighting pin 5 for the archer to align with. Nevertheless, and in spite of the advantages of the Logsdon sight, there remain several drawbacks. Among these is the cost, requiring the archer to buy a computer-controlled sight and compatible laser rangefinder. Furthermore, a laser-controlled range finder and computer controlled sight each require batteries, which are well known to lose charge at the most inopportune moments. The incorporation of electronics also makes the apparatus far more susceptible to the environment and far more likely to fail. In addition, when a target is intermediate between two discrete distances set by the sighting pins 5, the user must again approximate to a point between the illuminated pin and the adjacent pin. However, this again requires the archer, in the heat of the moment, to remember which pin 5 above or below the illuminated tip 6, is the correct pin to select. Again, in many instances this will become second nature to many archers. Unfortunately, with the excitement of the animal approaching, there still remain a significant number of archers who may temporarily be overwhelmed, and not select the proper adjacent pin. This is particularly true for younger and less frequent archers, both for whom the cost of the Logsdon sight is also more difficult to justify.
A number of other patents that are exemplary of the art, the teachings which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 2,461,122 by McQuitty, entitled “Aim indicator”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,071 by Mann et al, entitled “Sighting apparatus”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,717 by Kowalski, entitled “Archery bow sight”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,352 by Zykan et al, entitled “Laser bow sight apparatus”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,111 by LoRocco, entitled “Multiple pin sight for an archery bow”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,475,485 by Hamm et al, entitled “Archery bow yardage tape apparatus”. In addition to the aforementioned patents, Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition copyright 1983, is incorporated herein by reference in entirety for the definitions of words and terms used herein.